Editorial: Decision on property use rests with owners, not government

Friday

Oct 11, 2013 at 12:01 AMOct 11, 2013 at 5:59 PM

Belmont council members made the right decision Monday when they approved a property owners’ rezoning request. The decision supports private property rights, a cherished cornerstone of American freedom.

Private property rights go back to the beginning of our country – the English settlement at Jamestown.

Gov. Thomas Dale, arriving after starvation nearly wiped out the colony and seeing settlers playing instead of working, recognized the failure of collectivism. He understood a basic of human nature: People will not work hard if they do not enjoy the fruits of their labor.

The governor allotted three acres to each male colonist, most of whom came to the New World as indentured servants, and set them free to work for themselves. It was a new day for the Jamestown settlers and the beginning of a distinguishing characteristic of Americans.

With settlers given the opportunity to work for the benefit of themselves and their families, Jamestown flourished to the benefit of all in a way it never did when labor was forced for the common good.

Arthur Lee, the American revolutionary and great-grandson of a Jamestown settler, had this to say about private property rights:

“The right of property is the guardian of every other right, and to deprive a people of this, is in fact to deprive them of their liberty.”

The Cato Institute’s David Boaz explained the importance of property rights in America this way:

“Property is essential to making the government dependent on the people, not vice versa. It divides power, limits government, and protects freedom. No country has ever enjoyed freedom of the press, freedom of religion, or political liberty without secure property rights.”

Americans have seen their property rights eroded in violation of the Fifth Amendment’s “takings clause.” Most would see the “takings clause” related to compensation owed to a property owner when government takes one’s property for its own use. But an abundance of regulations, such as municipal zoning, can limit and destroy property value in ways that the owner loses the freedom to use the property in the way he best benefits.

Belmont council members, to their credit, did not allow that when they approved the rezoning request from Main Street property owners Jeffrey and Blythe Thompson.

The council’s decision now clears the way for these property owners to benefit from leasing space to a commercial tenant – a boutique jeweler – while preserving the property as a home for future occupancy.

The decision on how to use property rightly rests with the owners, not government. The Belmont council’s decision is a win for property rights and the protection of an American freedom rooted in our country’s first successful settlement at Jamestown.